


Pieces of a Past Forgotten

by KitKatCronch



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Amnesia, Angst, Caleb's fucked up past, Gen, Pining, Some Fluff, Spoilers for Caleb's arc, You've been warned, not my fault any longer, reader is a sorcerer because of the markings on their skin, you'll see - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-06
Updated: 2019-08-28
Packaged: 2020-04-11 13:52:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,978
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19110988
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KitKatCronch/pseuds/KitKatCronch
Summary: A piece of Caleb's past that he never thought he'd see again falls into his lap, but not the same way he remembered them.It's been 12 years since he saw them and he remembers them like it was yesterday.But their eyes hold no memories of him, the look of a stranger reflected back at him.What had he done to fuck it up this time?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So, I have no idea what Draconic actually is in Dnd or how to write it, so please excuse me for using Dovahzul from Skyrim instead, at least I know some of the words from stuff online and playing the game ^^;

“We can’t travel fast enough,” the harsh whisper flooded the quiet around two figures, hands held tightly as they ran through corridors that felt endless.

“We have to try,” came the reply, leaving the silence to settle over them like a heavy blanket.

Every moment, they felt they heard footsteps following them or felt they were breathing too loudly. Fear, anxiety, and adrenaline coursed through them both, the silent mantra of things would be worse if they were found out. They were only teenagers, stuck within the stone walls with monsters.

He’d done terrible things to them, having been forced to. Every time, his memories were altered enough to forget how close he was to the other, forced to use his powers against them. The soft thrum of their pulse against his fingers made his heart ache, a dull white glow peeking out from under their cloak he’d given them.

“Bren,” they whispered, stopping them both before the window that they’d hidden a rope near. “What will happen to you?”

Forcing a smile, he shook his head. “Don’t worry about me. Just get as far as you can and hide from Trent.”

The cloaked figure reached out, exposing the glowing white runes that seemed etched into their skin as they cupped his cheeks and leaned their forehead against his. His hands clasped around their wrists and sighed heavily, keeping his eyes closed to force back the pain of losing his close friend, even if it is for the better.

“For your safety,” his voice was barely audible and they could hear it crack slightly. It brought a smile to their face as the 16-year-old boy even broke at that point into a small grin. “For your safety, forget this place.”

“It’s impossible to forget you.”

“Y/n, please…”

They shook their head, leaning away slightly to look at him. “I will never forget your name, Bren. Not in a million years.”

Footsteps echoed nearby and they both jumped, both making a split second decision. Bren turned so his back was towards the hallway as his friend surged forward, pressing a hard and clumsy kiss to his lips before scrambling to get out the window. They knew how he felt about Astrid, but that might’ve been the only chance they had to see him, let alone release their hidden feelings for him. They took the chance, then quickly slid down the rope, leaving a stunned, and suddenly alone, Bren standing at the end of a hallway.

That was nearly twelve years ago. It was one thing he hadn’t shared with anyone, not even Nott. He wouldn’t say it haunted him, though he did often wonder what had happened to them.

“Caleb!” Jester yelled from the front of the cart towards the back, where the wizard who had been previously reading had spaced out.

Caleb flinched slightly, peering up at the blue tiefling. “ _Ja?_ ”

“Are you okay?” Her head tilted like a puppy.

“ _Ja_ , why do you ask?”

“You were just staring at the book and you hadn’t turned a page in a really long time, are you sure you’re a fast reader?”

He let out a loud sigh before looking back to his book, now ignoring his rambling companion. Frumpkin bumped his head against the man’s arm before curling up, letting out a soft “prrrpppt” noise to gain attention and head scratches, which he was given easily.

“Hey, do you guys wanna stop at this town?” Beau asked, leaning back slightly from the side of the cart.

Jester scrambled to look in her bags, taking stock quickly before nodding. “I think we should get more healing potions, cuz you guys aren’t always in range for healing!”

Caduceus nodded, a slow smile crossing his face. “Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. I can see if they have anything new to fix for lunch.”

It took fifteen minutes to set the cart away and find a tavern, asking around for either work or good shops to visit. The tavern owner was a kind looking old woman that the townsfolk affectionally called Lady Hazel who gave them direction to wherever they asked.

“You’re very knowledgable, Grandmother,” Caleb commented. “Do you know where I might find some books, though?”

“Oh, of course! Of course,” her hands clapped together once, turning to point out the door she kept open during the day to let in fresh air and daylight. “Turn to the right near the mill down there and ask for Leon or Y/n, they’ll help ya out real nice.”

He blinked for a moment before thanking her and walked stiffly out of the tavern with Nott in tow. The name had caused him pause, but it could just be a common name. He’d told them to go far away, they wouldn’t have stayed within the reach of the Empire, would they? Granted, it was a small, unnoticeable town, not even on the map, that he’d seen on their map. Maybe it was as good a place as any to begin a new life.

When the door opened, there was a soft ringing sound, like a bell, that caught Frumpkin’s attention as the two companions entered and immediately separated to explore, Caleb looking through the books and Nott looking for things to steal. Picking up a book or two on the history of the surrounding area, he weighed the thought of picking up a…self indulgent book and how long it would take for Jester to take it before settling on the ones he already had. Satisfied, he peered around for his goblin friend before going to what he assumed was the front desk.

" _Hallo_ , is anyone-”

“Ah, just a second!” Came a voice from somewhere in the back, then the sound of books falling and cursing. A smile tugged on his lips at the amount of creative curses in a few different languages, most notably Draconic.

“ _Faaz nah, tey!_ ” was spat out before a figure emerged from the back room, hopping on one foot before righting themself. “Sorry about that, I hadn’t managed to pick up the last stack of books that were delivered.”

He felt trapped suddenly, eyes locked on the soft smile that graced the all too familiar face. The expression changed to confusion, but never to recognition, which caused a pang in his chest. Something that he hadn’t felt for this reason in a while.

“M-my apologies,” he stuttered out, fidgeting with the frayed strings on his coat. “I-I just, uh…I’m not from here and do not know anyone here. May I ask your name?”

He was hoping against every string of fate that, perhaps, there was just a coincidence, that it wasn’t who he thought.

But, then, their smile widened as they held out their hand to shake his. “Y/n, it’s nice to meet a new face, mister…?”

He cleared his throat, gently shaking their hand and taking note that, while their skin held no runes as it had years ago, he could still feel the thrum of their heartbeat against his fingers. “Caleb Widogast.”


	2. Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There are spoilers in this whole thing, if you've gotten to part 2, I'm assuming you've at least watched ep 49, so don't get mad at me for spoiling the show
> 
> love you guys <3

The human in front of him was so familiar yet nothing like the person that left him at the academy. They didn’t even seem to recognize him, the look in their eyes void of familiarity, but kind still. He knew it was probably because of their job at the bookstore, but he had been on the receiving end of that look so much when he was younger, it was hard for him to not feel hope for just a moment.

“Is this all you need, Mister Caleb?” They tilted their head slightly, fingers gently tapping against the cover of one of the books.

“I, uh…” he blinked rapidly, trying to think of anything that would be believable that could lead down the path of asking them what they could remember of him. “No. No, I don’t think so, thank you.”

He turned on his heel and started for the door, mind blanking on the fact that he hadn’t paid or grabbed his books.

They noticed quickly as well. “Did you want your books?”

“I am good! Nott!”

The sound of quick scrambling and a few books hitting the floor caused them to jump as a little goblin darted after the now quick walking wizard. The poor human was left stunned and dumbfounded. Out of everything that had happened to them in this town, that had to be the weirdest.

Shaking their head, they picked up the books and looked towards the back corner of the shop, looking towards a dog they’d taken in who was staring at an orange cat.

“Bren, come on, time to eat,” they called and the dog came bounding to them, leaving the stray cat on its own. After they’d left, the cat poofed out of the building on his master’s command.

The dog followed at their heels as they walked, books in hand, to the tavern, trotting happily with its head up proudly. For still being a young dog, it was very well behaved.

“Afternoon, Lady Hazel,” they called out cheerfully, nodding to the old woman before sliding into a seat at the bar.

“I was wonderin’ when you were gonna show up, love,” she said with a grin. “Those books for that quiet fella I sent over?”

“Yep. Seems kinda shy, so I figured I could give them to him anyway.”

She chuckled softly before giving them a meal, including a bowl of food for their dog. However, as well behaved as the dog was, it was still a puppy, and the smell and sight of food was too much for it to resist.

The dog jumped on the counter and chaos ensued.

“Bren! What the fuck, get down!” They yelled, trying to grab at the rope collar around its neck before it could get to their food.

Caleb went rigid in his seat, eyes blown wide and darting around at the sound of that name.

“Caleb, are you okay?” Nott asked quietly, gently placing her hand against his arm.

“Bad dog, very bad dog, Bren! _Zu’u nis sahvot hi_!”

He swallowed hard, hands clenched hard on the table as he fought the instinct to both respond and run away from that place. “Uh….mm, _ja_ , I’m just...fine.”

“I’m so sorry, I’ll take him outside, I thought he would behave,” they apologized to Hazel as the tugged the dog away from the tavern.

Hazel was too busy laughing at their predicament to respond, only calming slightly when she started to clean up some of the spilled food. The Mighty Nein were quite distracted with their own problem, the frazzled wizard still hadn’t recovered from hearing his old name, none of them knowing what had thrown him so badly.

Y/n walked back in, brushing off some dirt from their pants. “I can’t apologize enough, I’m so sorry.”

“No need, child, no need. Eat some food, relax, don’t worry about little Bren, I’ve dealt with worse patrons than him in my time.”

With a soft chuckle, they began eating, eyes slowly scanning the room and taking into account all the people they’d come to know the last three years, as well as sending apologetic looks and smiles to the people they’d disrupted with their dog. Until their eyes landed on a very bright, very new group of wanderers and the man that’d just been in the bookstore. Their expression lit up as they gathered the books into their arms and made their way over to the table.

“Mister Caleb! You left your books at the store, so I thought I’d keep them with me in case I saw you again!”

He jerked upright in his seat, clearing his throat awkwardly as he kept his eyes down. “Y-yes, th...thank you...”

“I think what Caleb is trying to say, is he appreciates you going through the trouble of seeking him out,” the goblin elaborated, patting the man’s arm in a way that was nearly telling him to continue.

Quickly, they placed the books beside him, taking a step back from the group. “It’s no trouble, really. I’m just glad there’s another person who likes books.”

Caleb just nodded slightly. They stood there for an awkward moment before Jester clapped her hands together.

“Hey! Wanna join us for breakfast-”

“Lunch,” the half-orc corrected.

“Lunch! Of course, that’s what I meant, duh!”

“We may have slept in,” the monk looking girl said, voice rough and looking rather bored.

They chuckled softly, rubbing their arms slightly and looking back at Hazel to see if that was even a good idea. The old woman was eagerly gesturing for them to sit, excited at the aspect of them making friends. So, they sat next to the excited tiefling and somewhat sullen looking human girl. Immediately, the tiefling pushed a small plate of pastries over to them, putting her palms against her cheeks with her elbows on the table, making her look very cute and squished.

“Those are really good, do you like donuts?” She asked, voice full of excitement and eagerness and joy, far purer than they'd heard before.

Giving a nervous, slightly awkward half-smile, they nodded. “Yeah, am I...am I allowed to have one?”

“Yeah!”

“Jess,” the half-orc cut in again, “maybe before we stuff a stranger full of donuts, we should let ‘em get to know us?”

Her mouth went into a circle in a silent “oooh”. “That is a very good point, Fjord. I’ll save you one, though, and you can have one later.”

They chuckled quietly to themself. “Thank you, that’s really sweet of you.”

Jester grinned brightly, giggling. “It’s all the pastries!”

Clearing her throat to cover up a small chuckle, the human monk leaned forward slightly, resting her jaw against a closed fist. “So, what’s your name?”

“Y/n, or, at least, that’s what Hazel said was in the book I was found with.”

They all paused, exchanging looks. The half-orc, Fjord, cleared his throat as well, sitting up more in his chair.

“Your name...came from a book?”

“Yeah. It’s half in Zemnian, half in Draconic, she helped me translate it. Apparently, it’s a journal of some kind, it’s got dates and notes about me. Or...by me, I suppose.”

Caleb sunk further down in his seat, trying to disappear when they mentioned Zemnian. Only Caduceus seemed to notice his movements, but stayed silent about it, focusing back on the strange new person at their table. Each one introduced themselves to the stranger, Y/n, some eager, some hesitant, but, eventually, they knew the entire party.

“Where are you from?” Caduceus then asked in his slow, gentle way.

“As far as I know, Wildemount. Here, I guess? I’ve been here for...eleven, twelve years?”

Suddenly, with a louder than intended voice, Caleb threw himself back into an upright position. “That is, uh...an interesting name for a pet. Wh-where did you...get that name?”

They laughed, softly, and he swallowed hard. “That’s...okay, so, I don’t...actually remember anything before I was found here. Bren, the name, was in my journal and had a lot of notes that made it clear I was close to whoever it was. So...yeah.”

“You don’t remember growing up?” Jester asked quietly, eyes wide and curious.

Shaking their head, the human shrugged. “I have the journal. It tells me enough. Not all, but...it makes me glad that I don’t remember my past all that well.”

There was a stretch of silence, each member of the group processing this information in their own way. Caleb’s nails were digging into his palms. Everything made sense now, why they looked at him fondly but distantly, friendly but wary. Why did he tell them so long ago to forget? He didn’t figure they’d take it literally.

But they also kept their promise on not forgetting him...in a way. They kept his name in their life, even if they did have to name their dog after him.

"I've never seen you guys here before," they began, twisting their fingers around themselves. "Are you adventurers?"

There was a small chorus of affirments, causing their table guest to grow more nervous, chewing on the inside of their cheek.

“Are you guys going to leave soon?”

“Yeah, why?” Beau’s voice was guarded, eyes narrowing slightly.

They smiled bashfully at their hands, picking at the sleeves of their shirt. “I...I’d like to join you all. I wanna see if I can find out more about what happened to me and explore.”

“Do you do anything special?” The little goblin, Nott, piped up, peering over the table with her porcelain mask around her neck.

They glanced around, drawing their lower lip between their teeth. “I do magic. I’m a sorcerer. I could show you later tonight, only Hazel and Leon really know what I do and...I’ve already terrorized everyone here enough, I think.”

Fjord sighed, looking about the group before looking back to the hopeful new member. “Tell you what, we’ll all talk it over and, if you still wanna come tonight, meet us back at the front here. Alright?”

“You got yourself a deal, Mister Fjord.”

“Y/n! Leon needs you back at the store, love!”

“ _Sheisse_ , alright, thanks, Hazel.” They lifted themself from the table and flashed the group a smile, Caleb going into a blank stare again. “I’ll see you guys later, then.”

Jester waved enthusiastically to them as they left, hearing the yap of their dog following them.

“Uh...are we sure about them...joining us?” Caleb asked softly, blinking rapidly.

Nott made a face, thinking about how weird he’d been since he saw them at the book store. He kept tensing, freezing, staring into space.

“Why not? Always helpful to have another set of hands around.”

The wizard nodded, flexing his hands against his legs. “ _Ja...ja_.”


End file.
